I Give it a Year
by Anexie
Summary: It's funny how a year, an invention, and a sprinkling of success can change a man. Audler. Very slight noncon.


'I- uhhh... gosh, you're pretty.'

Audrey turns her head to the side and sees a pair of scuffed leather shoes nestled in the lush spring grass, about a foot away from where she sits hugging her knees. Her gaze travels upwards, flashing past the stripes of grey on the faded trousers, and then she's craning her neck to look up at the stranger's face. Although all she can see is a silhouette, because the sun is blindingly bright, so she gestures with one hand and says, 'Sit down.'

There is a soft _flump _as he does as he's told. She looks at him, taking in the wide, clear eyes, the snub nose and freckled cheeks, tinged red. He's a little too close to her for someone she's never met, but he looks so innocent that she can't imagine herself ever being intimidated or scared by him, even though he looks a good few years older than her.

'Hi. I'm Audrey.'

'Hi...' he breathes, the corner of his mouth quirking upwards into a quick smile. Then he looks to the ground, and although his hat brim covers most of his face, Audrey can still see a secret smile on his lips.

All the times she's been to this valley, she's never seen another human. That's why she likes to sit there, surrounded by fresh air and soft, muted colours, especially right now in the transition from winter to spring. It's always peaceful and quiet – in fact, she _should_ be feeling annoyed that this boy has interrupted her seclusion. But he's intriguing her.

She draws breath to ask him what his name is, but he's already there, facing her again with sparkling crystal eyes. 'My name's Onceler,' he says softly, and then to her surprise, takes her hand in both of his, brings it to his mouth and gently touches his lips to the back of her palm. 'Pleasure to meet you.'

And although it's as cringingly cliché as hell, Audrey's stomach does a swoop and she finds her own cheeks flooding. She hates it when she blushes, because with her flaming hair, she looks like a lit match – but this time, she doesn't seem to mind so much.

* * *

'Hey Audrey! Look at this!'

He comes bounding towards where they always meet by the lake, his lanky stride reminding her of a fawn on it's first legs, and flourishes a Very Pink Thing in her face the moment he gets close enough.

'What's that?'

He smiles smugly, raising an eyebrow in that saucy manner she loves, and proclaims proudly, 'It's my own invention. A _Thneed._'

'A what now?'

'It has a million uses! You can use it for _anything._ Clothes, curtains, pet lead, towel, hat, guitar strap... Anything!' He holds it out to her once he's stopped dancing with it, and she takes it in both hands, marvelling at the texture.

It's unthinkably soft, yet runs through her fingers like water. She brings it to her nose and delights at the smoothness against her cheeks and the fresh, sweet scent that's suddenly filled her nose. She grins brightly. 'It's lovely.'

He chuckles, probably at the way she's inhaling the smell of the fibres deeply with her eyes closed and bliss commandeering her face. 'You can keep it, if you want.'

'Oh, really! Thanks!' Audrey leans forward and pecks a quick kiss on his cheek, catching him by surprise; his eyes dart away from embarrassment and one of his secret smiles flashes across his face. But she's too busy still caressing the softness to notice. 'What this _made _out of? It's like nothing I've ever felt before.'

Onceler winks at her; another cheeky quirk of his. 'It's a secret. I can't have other people stealing my ideas, can I?'

She shakes her head obediently, and he continues, stepping a little closer to her. 'And... the Thneed just happensto be super-absorbent... and we just _happen_ to be standing right next to a refreshing, beautiful lake on a surprisingly warm spring day.'

Her eyes snap open. He's smiling innocently, but there's a devious glint in his eye that she's seen before, and it only grows more pronounced as her fingers flit to the buttons of his waistcoat and start undoing them. She keeps her head down to hide her smirk. 'Yes? And?'

'Fancy a swim?'

'Oh, why not?' she replies, just before her lips meet his.

* * *

'You chopped down a _tree_?'

'Audrey, don't. I've already had enough off of that freaky little moustache-'

'Moustache?' Her eyes are fire. 'What are you _talking _about?'

Onceler sighs, getting up heavily from his resting place. She'd found him there, in their usual spot by the lake, lying on his back with his hat over his eyes as if he hadn't a care in the world. But she'd seen the chopped up lumber behind his falling down cabin, all stacked up neatly with a pile of verdant pink tufts next to them.

He walks cautiously towards her, his palms facing outwards in a sign of submission. 'Listen, Audrey, it's just _one_ tree. I'm just testing out materials for my Thneed. I've gotta get it perfect.'

'Yeah, but how do I know it's just one? How do I know you won't just keep going and going and end up felling half the forest?' She's seen it happen before. Big hot-shots who don't give a damn about the environment, going in and clearing out thousands of miles of land for estate complexes, shopping malls, cheap furniture. And she likes Onceler a lot – hell she's beginning to even contract feelings akin to _love_ for him - but one of his negative traits is that he's very easily swayed by the prospects of fortune, of fame and approval... she doesn't want to see him succumb.

Her hands are being cradled by his own now, and his thumbs rub comforting circles on the backs of her wrists. Clear blue eyes find hers. 'I won't chop down any more trees, alright. Audrey? I _promise_.'

Silence. Then, she sniffs, raises her eyebrows and pouts. 'You'd better not.'

Onceler relaxes a little, his grip becoming less firm. 'I swear,' he says solemnly, holding up one palm in a promise salute and placing the other on his chest, above his heart.

She tries not to smile but fails, and ends up shaking her head at him. 'What was that about a moustache, anyway? She asks cordially, trying to shrug off her worries as she settles down to lie on her back in the cushioned green grass.

Onceler follows suit and lies down next to her with his hands behind his neck. 'Oh! Well... he's a little furry peanut, and he kinda... appeared out of the tree? The, uh, stump. And then tried to knock down my house.'  
Audrey adopts an expression of utter disbelief and confusion, laying it on for exaggerated effect, and it makes him chuckle. 'Whatever you say,' she replies mockingly. A second later, she squeals as she is suddenly pounced upon and tickled, Onceler's long fingers scrabbling over her ribs and stomach – and all of her scepticisms and stresses flee her mind.

* * *

She's miraculously managed to drag him away from his knitting and accounting – a fact which she is very proud of – and they're lying down on a checked blanket at their familiar spot by the lake. The sun is beating down, and Audrey can feel the sweat glistening on her skin. The heat's making her drowsy.

She pulls herself into a sitting position with a groan, and roots lazily through the picnic basket, searching for a drink. But both bottles of water and the Truffula fruit juice are long gone, having practically been inhaled by the two of them within the first hour. It probably wasn't the wisest of ideas to go out in the height of summer, at the very time when the sun was highest in the sky – even now beneath the shade of a cluster of trees, Audrey feels like she's sat in a furnace.

'Once...ler...' she whines, collapsing back down next to him. 'I'm too _hot_.'

'I know that,' he replies, opening one eye at her and smirking suggestively, and she hits his forearm half-heartedly.

'Oww...'

Onceler pouts, exaggerating his injury, but then a fiendish look flickers across his face and Audrey suddenly finds him straddling her waist and tickling her anywhere he can reach – it's a habit he's gotten into doing, and she only half dislikes it. She giggles manically, squealing, '_Stop!_ _Stop!_' and he does, but remains sitting on top of her with a sappy smile on his face.

Audrey raises one hand to push her fingers through her hair, half lidding her eyes and pursing her lips at him teasingly. It's a jokey, humorous action, but Onceler takes advantage and dives in anyway, and she hugs his shoulders as he kisses her.

Two hours worth of heat-overdose start to take effect and the kiss becomes a hot, fast and passionate one very quickly; Audrey drags her nails across his scalp, tugging at his hair as his tongue flickers in and out of her mouth. Deep warmth is already beginning to pulse at her groin, and she sighs in bliss as Onceler delicately places his knee in between her legs and she is able to rock her hips up against him.

The flat of his palm smooths against the fabric of her dress on her stomach, up to where he was tickling her just a few minutes ago, brushes softly against the side of her breast. She bites down on his lower lip and his hand clenches into a fist, screwing up the textile in his fingers. Onceler breaks away, breathing a little harder than normal and ghosts hot air over the tender skin of her neck, kissing her jaw and baring his teeth to nibble at the spot just below her ear...

Audrey places her hands on his shoulders and pushes, and he raises his head, looking at her questioningly. 'What?'

She looks up at him, her lips parted and dry from panting, her forehead shiny with sweat. 'I'm... it's too _hot_ for this... can we not go inside?'

Onceler's brows knit together. 'But it's not any different in my cabin...' He kisses her neck once more, and she arches into him. He whispers in her ear, 'And I don't wanna move...', and then she can feel his work-roughened fingers already halfway up her thighs, thumbs tracing intricate patterns on the soft flesh on the inside of her legs. Due to the weather, she's not wearing any stockings, or bra; although she was unsure at first about wandering around practically naked, she can safely say that she's glad of it now.

Onceler definitely doesn't care about rushing things today, so Audrey adopts his manner and tugs at the cotton shirt that's started to cling to his body from perspiration; he shrugs out of it and goes directly back to sucking and mouthing at her collarbone. His slender fingers find their way to the buttons at the front of her dress and make light work of them, and then suddenly her over-heated skin is exposed to the stifling air, the scratchy picnic blanket rubbing at her back. Onceler presses their bodies together, entwining their thighs, and she whines quietly in delight at feeling the barely-there muscles of his chest against her own bare skin. '_Onceler..._' she breathes as his mouth travels downwards to her breast and his tongue encircles her nipple and sucks harshly.

Her hands dance eagerly across his back, feeling every taut muscle, memorising the shape of his shoulder blades. Her nails tap and scrape against his skin and make him arch his back, all the way down to the waistband of his old, worn jeans and the battered leather belt. She can feel him, hard against her stomach, and Onceler raises his head when her fingers move to the buckle of his belt. His pupils are wide-blown and his cheeks flushed, and he's panting as fast and hard as she is in the exhausting temperatures. Sweat has moistened his fringe and it's sticking to his forehead, and he sticks his bottom lip out to blow air upwards.

Sitting upright again, he starts to undo his belt and pulls down the straining zipper, slowly because her eyes are trained on his crotch, and if there's one word that could describe this impossible man it would be '_tease_'. Onceler smirks as he steadily shoves his pants down to his knees and lets his erection spring out, never taking his eyes off Audrey – she actually licks her lips at one point, which makes him audibly moan and then it's _her_ turn to smile smugly, satisfied with his reaction to her lust.

But she's not smiling for long because he swoops down quickly, spreads her thighs and then his lips are pressed against the moist fabric of her underwear, his tongue flickering across the seam and Audrey claps one hand to her mouth to try and stifle the high-pitched whine that escapes. He pulls away again and chuckles to himself before shedding his jeans and moving to kneel between her legs. The sunlight is bright behind him and puts him in silhouette, and Audrey stares, amazed at how he can sometimes look so young, so _innocent_, and she forgets that he's not just a teen like her, and _now_... well, somehow it's not hard to believe any more. He's a proper _man -_ and that is _hot_.

And then the head of his cock is brushing against her lower lips and her hands grab onto his forearms as he pushes in, slowly and gently. Her eyes are closed tight, but after a few seconds she feels his mouth press a sweet kiss on the end of her nose and so she opens them. He's above her, smiling but tensed, and she kisses him back and rocks her hips downwards. Onceler takes the hint and starts to move, in and out, steadily at first but soon builds up a pace and _oh_ that friction, and the feel of him inside her, the _hardness_ and it's so filling, so _satisfying_-

He breathes out roughly with each thrust, gasps and low grunts filling the air. Audrey's hands find their way to his back again and she clings to his shoulders desperately, trying to stifle the whines that threaten to spill over inside. The burning has only increased, with the movement and the heat of his body and the fluid and sweat... it's hard to catch a breath in the thick air.

The pace becomes irregular, deeper and more erratic. Onceler's forehead drops to press into her shoulder in an effort to ground himself; his hands flee to her hips and encourage her to slam against him, meet him at every thrust, and she does so willingly. Audrey knows he's not going to last much longer, and neither is she. She's on fire, ready to explode...

He moans lowly as he comes, continues to thrust half-heartedly and milk it for all it's worth before pulling out and slumping to lie by the side of her on the blanket. Heavy breathing is the only sound she can hear; the slow trickle of sweat and semen the only thing she can feel. Turning over, Audrey curls into him and drapes one arm across his chest. She sighs happily, and he kisses the top of her head.

* * *

Audrey waits for a good hour, sat in her usual spot, the space by the lake where they first met, but he doesn't turn up. And as she scans the area, she can't even see him walking towards her with his familiar slightly unbalanced stride. This has happened a couple of times in the past week, and his only explanation is that he's been busy with work. She doesn't know what on earth that could mean, as the last time he ventured into town he got chased away with rotten fruit.

So she decides that he's probably 'busy' again, and so sets off through the trees to his cabin in the hope of finding him. On the way there, she passes the stump; the bark is cracked and dry now, and moss is creeping up the side. The ring of stones still mark it. She doesn't know who put them there, although she likes to think it was Onceler, and she likes to think that they're there as a remembrance; a commemoration. She doesn't ask the actual truth behind their appearance though.

Audrey raps loudly on the door, half expecting it to fall down under her blows. 'Onceler? Come on, Onceler.'

There's no answer, so she tries the door handle and finds it unlocked. After a very small hesitation she enters the cozy abode, carefully closing the door behind her. Thneeds are everywhere; littering every available surface and even serving as some sort of abstracts carpeting. Though it's not a very big space, so she can easily see Onceler's lanky form through the haze of magenta fluff; he's draped over his desk by the window. He's asleep and snoring loudly, even though a beam of sunlight is steadily dancing up his exposed cheek through a chink in the curtains.

She shakes her head fondly and goes over to him, and gently shakes him awake. 'Hey. Wake up, sunshine.'  
His eyes flicker open groggily and he inhales a deep yawn, furrowing his brow. There's an inky smudge on his forehead from one of the papers on his desk, but she doesn't tell him. Yet.

Free of the usual blueprints and wild ideas, the rickety workspace is plastered in graphs and tables and figures – specifically _prices_; additions and subtractions and an entire patchwork of sums, all dotted with the little sign of the currency. 'Onceler... what's all this?'

'Oh... is just-' Another loud yawn, badly suppressed. '-just some working out...'

It's amazing how drowsiness can turn such an inventive, quick and sharp mind into one of such simple sluggishness. Pulling one of the sheets towards her, Audrey reads from it. '27 Thneeds sold Tuesday; 18 Wednesday; 24 on Thursday... Gosh, Onceler. Things are really picking up, aren't they?' she exclaims excitedly, and he senses her happiness and pulls her into a lazy embrace.

'Yes,' he murmurs into the side of her neck. 'Some- some people came to my house and they wanted Thneeds...' He yawns again. 'Sorry- 'm just tired because I've been knitting all night...'

Audrey hugs him back, kisses his cheek. 'But that's so great, isn't it? What an improvement on their opinion of you...' She trails off, because his forehead is slowly becoming a dead weight on her shoulder and he's practically snoring again. She stands upright and jerks him to consciousness once more. 'Well, I can see that you've been busy, and you need your sleep. Come on,' she instructs, acting motherly even though he's six years her senior.

Together, with him hobbling and her supporting what little he weighs, they manage to stumble over to his bed and lay him down on top of the crumpled blankets. 'Thank you...' he mumbles into his pillow.

She looks at him, half in fondness and half in disappointment that he's obviously not going to be the most responsive of people today. She might as well just go home.

Audrey turns to leave,but changes her mind halfway to the door and turns back. 'Move up,' she requests as she walks back over to his bed. After a moment, he obliges with a muffled grunt and she settles herself down next to him. Onceler's arms go around her automatically and she nuzzles into his chest, and she feels him sleepily kiss the top of her head. It's nice, but Audrey still can't help sadly reminiscing about the times towards the start of the summer, just a few weeks ago, when they spent almost every day together in the warmth of the sun beaming down between the tufts of the trees.

A little while later, Audrey is awoken by the smell of sweetness and baking, and her eyelids flutter open lazily to the sight of her companion bopping about to his own quiet humming as he cooks, pink apron fluttering around as he twirls. She sits upright, stretching, just in time for him to turn around.

'Audrey! How're ya doing?' he grins, sending a plate toppling onto his rickety old dining table, piled high with pancakes. 'I know it's getting late, but won't you join me for a quick snack?'

Her gaze wanders to the now opened curtains; in the dusky sky the sun is low, and the Truffulas' shadows are elongated over the ruffled grass. She should leave soon. But she gets up, wanders over and plonks down on a chair next to the table. 'I've only got time to have one... or maybe three,' she smiles, helping herself and giggling at his over-dramatic pancake flipping. 'It's nice to see you so... _conscious_.'

He laughs merrily at her dryness, and the sound fills her up with light. 'Yeah, I managed to get a lot of it done,' he says, gesturing at the now tidy cabin, and the cardboard boxes stacked up in the corner that are overflowing with pink textile.

They eat together, and then Audrey makes her leave, desperately trying to flatten her bed hair; she really doesn't want any suggestive questions about how she'd spent her time with the boy who lives in the forest. Her parents disapprove of her constant absence as it is. She rushes through the trees, trying to get home before the sun dips below the valley, and only a small section of her mind notices how the forest seems a little bit sparser than usual; how in the immediate vicinity around the Onceler's cabin there seem to be a subtle appearing of stumps where trees once stood.

* * *

A few months later, Audrey stood in front of him with her hands on her hips. He was sat down in his chair behind the desk, and was refusing to meet with her gaze.

'Onceler. I thought you said you were going to take me out today.'

Even with all his superior power, wealth and age, he still seemed to shrink in his seat before her irritated glare. He folds his arms, making the crisp velvet of his gloves shine under the muted orange glow of the office lamps. 'Listen, Audrey. I'm sorry. Okay? But I'm just too busy today.'

She pouts, raising an eyebrow. 'But-'

'Why don't you just take some money and go treat yourself to somethin'?' he says, hastily reaching into the pocket of his slacks. 'Go on, take this-'

'Onceler, I don't care about the money!' Audrey yells, storming towards him and around the side of his desk, and he reclines backwards as she leans into him and jabs a finger into his chest. 'But I'm pretty sure it's all _you_ care about!'

His brow furrows, and he opens his mouth to say something but she cuts him off again. 'And take off these _damned _glasses-' She yanks them from his face, tossing them to the floor. '-and let me see your face!'

Onceler suddenly stands upright and grabs her wrist pulling her to him; his eyes are dangerous and glinting beneath dark brows and it's almost a snarl that escapes his lips as he speaks- 'What_ is_ it with you? Why can you never just be _happy_?'

Audrey narrows her eyes in disbelief. 'Maybe because you never have any time for me these days?' she snaps back scathingly, trying to tug her wrist from his grip, but he holds tight and the velvet rubs against her skin harshly. 'You've always too _busy _or you've got some _meeting_...and you never _listen_ to me any more... where's that filtration system you promised me you'd set up?'

Onceler's jaw sets, and she can almost see him picturing the river, black and gloopy with factory waste, oozing down into the lake where they used to meet. It was more a puddle of thick tar than a lake now, as she'd seen walking up to the factory earlier as she weaved in and out of the tree stumps that littered the dry, cracked earth. Yes, it's the beginning of winter now – but the trees are supposed to have _some_ life left to them, right?

Audrey's blood is boiling and four months worth of anger is rising inside of her, and she feels no mercy when she attacks him once again. 'I guess you won't be keeping that promise then... just as you didn't keep the one about _not chopping the trees down?'  
_  
He flinches as if she's slapped him. His eyes are wide and furious and his shoulders are hunched – but then he straightens up to his full height and looks down on her through a scowl. 'You complain I don't spend any time with you? Fine! Fine, let's spend some time together _now_!'

And then his hands are on her shoulders and he's pulling her against him, and one hand sneaks down to the small of her back. She struggles, and spits out, 'Let go of me!', but he keeps a firm hold.

'Now now, Audrey. Do you really want to deny us this quality time together?' Onceler says in a controlled voice that sends a frightful chill down her spine. His hand goes to her breast and he fondles her through her sweater, and she's so shocked that she stops trying to pull away. He backs her up against his desk and pins her there with one leg between her thighs. She watches in horror as he leers closer to her, his eyes gleaming and dark and nothing like the clear, icy-crystal blue that she remembers from the early spring.

'Onceler... don't...'

'Ah-ah. Nope. I don't listen to you any more, remember?'

He leans in to her and his lips brush her cheek with a coldness that makes her blood curdle in her veins. But it breaks her paralysis and she simultaneously stamps on his foot and sends a crashing fist to the side of his neck. He immediately falters, staggering away from her. With her heart beat so erratic she feels as if it's going to explode, Audrey leaps away from him and sprints to the double doors on the other side of the room.

She risks a quick glance back over her shoulder when she reaches the hallway, and sees Onceler, who has collapsed back into his chair, looking right back at her with an impassive expression. Knowing that she's watching him, he flaps his hand in dismissal and slowly turns around in his chair until she's glaring into the red quilted back. Audrey bottles her fury and storms off down the corridor of the building, and just as the office doors swing shut, an assured, deep voice intones, 'She'll be back.'


End file.
